Stitch remover



l June 15 1925. 1,589,153

H. HARRIS STITCH REMOVER Filed August 5, 1925 Patented .une 15', l1926.

.TENT oem-CE.

HARRY HARRIS, OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.

STITCH uEMovEn,

Application area August 5, 1925. serial No. 48,349.

This invention relates to shoe repairing machinery and its object is to provide a simple toolby the use of which the stitches in al sole or welt may be removed. In resoling shoes, it is necessary, of' course, to remove the old sole before applying a. new sole and with the machinery now available the stitches 'by which the old lsole is held to the welt or the upper sole are severed but not entirely withdrawn, the result being that when the new sole is applied to the'welt or the upper sole the ends of the stitches which are left in the projecting edge of the welt or the upper sole prevent such. perfect placing of the new sole as is desirable tov produce a neat iinish and an attractive appearance in the repaired shoe. The object ofmy invention, therefore, more specifically stated, is to provide means wherebyafter the worn sole has been removed the :fragments of the stitches left in the welt or the upper sole may be all removed andthe welt or projecting i edge of the upper sole left in such condition that the new sole may be placed in close contact with the welt or the upper sole throughout its. marginal extent and firmly united therewith so that the repaired shoe will have the same neat appearance as it hadv when new and the re aired sole will be more durable than the so `'es applied heretofore. One embodiment of the invention is illustrated in tlieaccompanying drawing, and the invention resides in, certain novel features which will be hereinafter first fully described and then more particularly pointed out in the appended claims. f' Y In thedrawing: s

Figure 1 is a view showing my improved tool in operative positionand as it appearsl whenl working upon a shoe; 4

Fig.` 2' is an enlarged longitudinal section of thetool, and

Fig. 3 is an end view thereof partly broken away. In the drawing, thereference numeral 1 indicates a portionof the su porting frame of a shoe-repairing outfit an 2 designates av driving shaft mounted in said support and equipped with a band pulley 3 about which a' power belt 4 is trained. In the practice of my invention, I provide a hub or collar 5 which is adapted to lit closely upon the end of the shaft 2v and is preferably secured on the shaft by a set screw 6 inserted through the end portion of the hub so as to bind upon` the shaft. This hub member hasan extended axial portion 7 which isv externally threaded, as shown at S, for a purpose which will presentlyjappear. The hub. member has an annular flange portionv 9, one face. of G0 which is radial to its axis, asy indicated at' 1Q, andthro'ugh the said flange are fitted pins 11 which extend parallel to the shaft, 2. Placed against the radial face 10 Vof the huh'k member is a disk 12 which is constructed in 05 its'outer'face to fit snuglyA around they hul)l member and the outer faces of the said disk and the hub member are. given an ogee for'- mation so that they lie flush and present-a continuous uninterruptedsurface. The inner face ofthe dish` 12' is recessed, as shown at 13, and extending through the dislz'are openings. 14 through which the. pins l1 pass so that the disk will be held in liXed relation to the hub member. To further secure the 75 disk in fixed relation to the hub mem,- ber, cap` screws l5 are inserted through the disk adjacent its inner margin to e11-V gage the flange of the hub member, as will be understood upon reference to Fig. S0 2. It will also be noted that the inne;1 margin. of the diskv ts closely about the eX- tended sleeve portion? of the hub member.. The marginal portion ofthe inner face of the disk '12 is formed into a series'of teeth e5 16 which are disposed angles to. the radiiof the disk, and these teeth are adapted to rub upon the upper surface of the project# ing edge of the welt or the upper sole. of the shoe so as to engage the stitches left in the. sele and 'draw them therefrom. The teeth, of course, should be sharp enough to posi-v tively engage the stitches but are not yso y sharp that they will cut into and deface the welt. .Fitted loosely about `the `extended sleeve portion 7 of the hub member is a.

ypresser plate or disk 17 which is slightly (lished so as to conform generally to the slightly convex inner surface of the disk l2,

and this presser plate is provided with open-v ings 18 through which the ends of the pins 11 project, as clearly shown. ',Ihe vpresser plate is preferably of soft iron while the disk 12 is of hardened steel so that while the presser plate will perform its function of holding the' welt firmly to the stitch-removing disk it will not exert such pressure thereon as will result in a cutting of the welt. Around the margin of the presser plate indentations or grooves 19 are formed in the outer face thereof so that ribs 2O will be delined on the inner face thereof, and these ribs are arranged at angles to the radii of the disk to follow closely the arrangement of the teeth 16. An expansion spring 21 is coiled around the sleeve 7 of the hub member between the disk 12 and the presser plate 17 so that the presser plate cannot be forced inwardly to such an extent as to bind against the disk and at the outer side of the presser plate a spring band 22 is fitted around the sleeve 7 of the hub member to yieldably hold the presser plate toward the stitch-removing disk. This spring 22 is a flat band which is circular in side view but in edge view has an ogee formation, as will be understood upon reference to Figs. 1 and 2. Threaded upon the end of the sleeve 7 and having its inner end bearing against the said spring 22 is a. collar 23 which has its outer surface knurled or milled, as indicated at 24, whereby it may be easily grasped when the parts are being assembled. By turning the said collar home against the spring 22, the force exerted by the spring may be easily regulated and the pressure exerted by the Jlate 17 upon the welt adjusted to the needs of the work. The collar 23 carries a set screw 25 which is adapted to bear against the driving shaft 2 and thereby secure the collar to the shaft, this binding of the collar to the shaft also serving to hold it in the position to which it may be adjusted upon the sleeve 7 of the hub 5.

ln the use of the device, after the old sole has been cut from the shoe, the shoe is presented to the tool so that the projecting edge of the welt will enter between the disk 12 and the pressure plate 17, as shown in Fig. 1. IThe tool is then rotated and the teeth 15 of the disk 12 will be thereby caused to engage the stitches left in the welt so as to pull them from the welt andy leave the latter clean and smooth. rl`he presser plate bears against the lower side of the welt and holds the welt to the disk 12 while the ribs 2() upon the presser plate act upon the ends of the stitches so as to push them through the welt to be positively engaged by the teeth of the stitch-ren'ioving disk. It is to be noted that the ogee formation of the outer surface of the stitch-removing disk eliminates-all rough projections which would tend to mutilate the shoe upper and presents a smooth surface to the upper which produces a polish upon the upper, laying all the rough surfaces which may have been produced thereon through the use of the shoef The combined action of the presser plate and the stitch-removing disk slightly softens the welt so that both surfaces are scraped clean without being cut or injured and they are left in proper condition for the application of rubber cement which is employed very generally in repair work.

The use of this device expedites the repair inans work as the old stitches are removed cleanly and rapidly and the fitting of the new sole in place may be rapidly and accurately done. Moreover, the tool removes the old stitches so thoroughly that the new stitches will obtain a perfect hold upon the work so that the repair will be permanent and the stitching will hold until the material in the new sole has worn away. rlhe expansion spring 21 aids in separating the "59 presser plate and the stitch-removing disk so that the insertion of the welt between these elements may be easily accomplished without causing excessive strain upon the welt with consequent deformation of the 35 same. rfhe device is exceedingly simple in the construction and arrangement of its parts and may be produced at a low cost and operated in a very economical manner so as to enable the repair man to turn out asuperior grade of work.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. A device for the purpose set forth com prising a rotatable disk provided on one face with tangential stitch-engaging teeth, a presser plate arranged in proximity to the disk and provided on its face presented to thel disk with tangential ribs cooperating with the teeth on the disk, yieldable means 1 0 tending to hold the presser plate to the disk, yieldable means tending to hold the presser plate out of contact with the disk, and means for preventing relative angular displacement of the plate.

2. A device for the purpose set forth comprising a rotatable disk provided on one face with stitch-pulling means, the opposite face of tue disk being marginally adapted to smooth a shoe upper, a presser plate arranged in proximity to the disk and provided on its face presented to the disk with stitch-pressing elements, pins projecting from the disk and passing through the plate to prevent angular relative displacement of the plate,

yieldable means tending to hold the presser plate toward the disk, and yieldable means tending to hold the presser plate out of contact with the disk.

prising a hub member, means for securing said hub member upon a driving shaft, the hub member having an extended sleeve portion, a disk secured to said hub member to o. A device for the purpose set forth comrotate therewith and provided upon its inner face with stitch-pulling teeth at its margin, the said inner face of the disk being centrally dished, axially extending pins carried by the hub and passing through the disk, a,

presser plate slidably mounted on said pins and provided at its margin on its face presented to the disk with stitch-pressing elements, an expansion spring fitted Within the centrally dished poi-tion of the disk and bearing against the disk and the presser plate, a spring bearing against the outer face of the presser plate, and a collar fitting about the extended sleeve of the hub land adjustable longitudinally thereon to regulate shaft.

In testimony whereof I aHiX my signature.

HARRY HARRIS. 

